Rail fastener



Aug. 19 1924.

1505 245 J. S. CHRISTMAS RAIL FASTENER Filed March l2 1924 I @ugmpn "fr/ E2 A liimiiiiiiillliiilliilliiliifiiifiimiifiw V r P v I J K 72 J 1776 WITNESSES IN V EN TOR A TTORNE YS Patented Aug. 19, 1924.

UNITED STATES RAIL FASTENER.

Application filed March 12, 1924. Serial N'O. 698,794.

rail fastener of this character which maybe I readily assembled with thetie and rail or released and which when assembled with the rail and tiefirmly and securely locks and holds the rail to the tie. a

A further object is to provide a rail fastener of this character andhaving these advantages and which is also of simple and durable.construction, reliable in operation and easy and comparativelyinexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention reside in certain novelfeatures of the construction, combination and arrangement of parts whichwill be hereinafter more fully describedand particularly pointed'out inthe appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsforming part of this specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, showing one embodiment ofthe invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the same with the tread of therail broken away for the sake of illustration;

vFigure 8 is a view in central longitudinal vertical section; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary group view in perspective illustrating theinterengaging means between the locking bar and the Lie.

In the drawings a steel tie 5 of channel form has integral fixed railengaging jaws6 at its ends. One side of the base of each rail 7 isengaged by a jaw 6 and the opposite side is engaged by the railfastening'device constituting the present invention and designatedgenerally at 8. As these rail fasteners 8 are of identical constructiona single description will serve for both.

Each rail fastener 8 includes a spring locking bar 9 which is preferablyconstructed of spring steel so as to have the requisite resiliency andstrength. Intermediate its ends the bar 9 isslidably and pivotallyconnected to the tie. For this purpose the bar 9 is provided with alongitudinal slot 10. A rivet 11 is fixedly secured to the tie 5 and hasa rounded portion 12 of its shank 'eX- [PATENT OFFICE." -f

tended through the slot 10 of the bar 9, the v rounded portion 12 havinga sliding and rotary fit in the slot 10. The length of the roundedportion 12 of the shank of the rivet is somewhat greater than thethickness of the bar 9, for a purposewhichwill presently appear. A head13 of the rivet 11 is engageable with the top side of the bar 9 alongthe slot10. I

()ne end of the bar 9 is upwardly inclined, as at 14, and is engageablewith the baseof the rail. I At its'opposite end the bar 9 hasintegrally'formed therewith a depending tongue 15, the lower edge ofwhich is curved as indicated at 16 and as shown to advantage in Figure4. A transverse groove 17 is provided in the tie 5 and has a curved Ybottom wall 18 with which the tongue 15 is cooperable as will presentlyappear. x

In operation, the rail is-first engaged with r the fixed jaw 6, the bar9 having been shifted to the extreme right as viewed in Figures 1 to 3,and as shown in dotted lines in Figures 2 and 3. To assemble the railfastener with the rail it is moved to the left as viewed in Figuresfl to3 until the upturned end 14 comes into engagement with the top surfaceof the base of the rail 7 adjacent the side edge thereof. This initialmovement is freely partaken of by the bar 9 due to the greater length ofthe portion 12 of the shank of the rivet 11. The top surface of the baseof the rail inclines upwardly from its side ed es to the web of the railso that after the initial movement described the portion 14 comes intotight frictional engagement with the base of the rail. The bar 9 is,however, driven along the tie 5 t0 the left, as viewed in Figures 2 and3 to cause the end portion 14 of the bar to ride upthe base of the railuntil the tongue 15 snaps into the groove 17. The bar 9 is thus flexedlongitudinally about the head 18 of the rivet 11, the end 14 of the barbeing elevated above the rivet by virtue of its engagement with the baseof the rail and the other end of the bar being'elevated above the rivetby the tongue 15. Since the bar 9 is constructed of spring steel itfirmly locks and secures the rail to the tie. Endwise displacement ofthe bar 9 is prevented rail and by the engagement of the tongue with theslot 17. Due to the curvature of the lower edge 16 of the tongue 15 andto the corresponding curvature of the bottom wall 18 of the groove 17,the bar 9 may be released from its engagement with the rail by drivingthe same in either direction about the rivet 11 as an axis, as indicatedin dotted lines in Figure 2, although, of course, the frictionalengagement of these parts securely holds them against accidentaldisplacement. A hammer may be used to drive the locking bar in both theassembling and releasing operations, the hammer being struck against thebar at the juncture of the tongue 15 therewith.

I claim;

1. A rail fastener for use in securing a rail to a tie and including aspring locking .bar slidably and rotatably connected to the tie, saidbar being flexed longitudinally in the assembly and having one endengaged with the rail, and interengaging means between the opposite endof the locking bar and thetie.

2. A rail fastener for use in securinga rail to a tie and including aspring locking bar slidably and rotatably connected to the tie, said barbeingflexed longitudinally in the assembly and having one end engagedwith the rail.

A rail fastener for use in securinga rail to a tie and including aspring locking bar having its intermediate portion slidably andpivotally connected to the tie and having one end upwardly inclined andengageable with the rail, and interengaging means between the oppositeend of the bar and the tie, the bar being flexed longitudinally inassembly.

4L. A rail fastener for use in securing a rail to a tie and including aspring locking bar having its intermediate portion slidably andpivotally connected to the tie and having one end upwardly inclined andengageable with the rail, and interengaging means between the oppositeend of the bar and the tie, said interengaging means including a tonguedepending from the locking bar, the tie having a transverse grooveprovided with a curved bottom wall with which the tongue is cooperable,the bar being flexed longitudinally in assembly. a

5. A rail fastener for use in securing a rail to a steel tie having afixed rail engaging jaw, said rail fastener including a locking bar ofspring steel, said locking bar being curved longitudinally and havingone end upwardly inclined and engageable with the base of the rail andhaving a depending tongue at its opposite end provided with a curvedlower edge, said bar having a longitudinal slot intermediate its ends, arivet secured to the tie and upstanding therefrom, said rivet having ashank slidably and rotatably fitted in the slot of the bar and having ahead engaged with the upper side of the locking bar, the tie having atransverse slot intowhich the depending tongue of the bar snaps inassembly.

6. A rail fastener for use in securing a rail to a tie having a fixedrail engaging'j aw, said rail fastener including a locking bar of springsteel having its intermediate portion slidably and pivotally connectedto the tie and having one end engageable with the rail, said bar havinga depending tongue at its 0pposite end, the tie having a groovecooperable with the tongue, the locking bar being longitudinally flexedin assembly and being spaced from the tie whereby the inherentresiliency of the bar holds the same in position and clamps the rail tothe tie.

JULIUS STONE CHRISTMAS.

